Lina Voss never meant to kill anyone.
It happened on a rainy Tuesday.
The kind of rain that blurred the city lights and made everything feel distant… unreal. Lina pulled her jacket tighter around her body as she rushed across the street, her mind occupied with nothing more than getting home and collapsing into bed.
That's when she bumped into him.
"Sorry—" she started.
Her hand brushed against his.
And everything… stopped.
The world didn't fade.
It shattered.
Suddenly—
She wasn't standing in the rain anymore.
She was somewhere else.
Somewhere brighter.
Warmer.
Lina gasped as she looked down at her hands.
They weren't hers.
They were larger. Rougher. Covered in faint scars.
"What the—?"
A mirror stood in front of her.
And the face staring back…
Wasn't Lina Voss.
It was him.
The man from the street.
Panic exploded inside her chest.
"This isn't real… this isn't real…" she whispered.
But it felt real.
Too real.
She could feel his heartbeat. His breath. Even the slight ache in his shoulder.
Then—
Memories hit her.
Not hers.
His.
A childhood.
A first love.
Regrets.
Secrets.
They flooded her mind like a storm.
"Stop—!" she cried, grabbing her head.
But it didn't stop.
Hours passed.
Or maybe minutes.
She couldn't tell.
Then suddenly—
Darkness.
Lina opened her eyes.
She was back in the rain.
Back in her body.
Back in her life.
Gasping for air.
"What… what just happened?"
Her hands trembled as she looked around wildly.
The street was empty.
Too empty.
"No…"
Her heart dropped.
She turned slowly.
And there—
Lying on the ground—
Was the man.
Unmoving.
Lina took a step forward.
Then another.
"No… no no no…"
She knelt beside him, her fingers shaking as she reached for his pulse.
Nothing.
Her breath stopped.
"He's… dead?"
The word didn't feel real.
Dead.
Because of her?
Sirens echoed in the distance.
Lina froze.
Her mind screamed at her to run.
And this time—
She listened.
That night…
She locked herself inside her apartment.
Didn't eat.
Didn't sleep.
Just sat there.
Thinking.
Replaying everything.
Over and over again.
"I didn't do this…" she whispered.
"I didn't kill him…"
But deep down—
She knew the truth.
She had taken something from him.
Something she didn't understand.
Something she couldn't control.
Then her phone buzzed.
Lina flinched.
Slowly… she picked it up.
Unknown number.
Her fingers hesitated before opening the message.
One line.
Just one.
"How did it feel… living your first stolen life?"
Lina's blood turned cold.
She wasn't alone.